The Mourning After
by Mitzia
Summary: After encountering her father in the Temple of Sacred Ashes, Elissa is hit with a whirlwind of emotions. Her companions notice this and try their best to cheer up their leader. Oneshot. Warning! Minor DA: Origins spoilers. Includes all Origin companions except Shale and Loghain.


"Elissa hasn't been looking her best these days."

"She doesn't appear to be sick."

"Well, not sick in the body, perhaps. Her mind is plagued, though."

"Wouldn't anyone be a bit worried if the fate of the world rested on those frail shoulders of hers?"

"This isn't like her to be worried over the Blight. It must be something else."

"Ah, give her a drink and let her loosen up a bit."

Alistair tapped his finger to his chin in thought. Morrigan scoffed and slapped his hand away from his face. "What do you honestly think you can come up with?"

"Unlike you, I know how to interact with other people. I'm going to go talk to her," he said as sternly as he could towards Morrigan.

Morrigan shrugged her bare shoulders and crossed her arms over her almost exposed abdomen. "Go ahead then. Please do make matters in the world all the more harder for us."

Alistair glared at the witch and left the group of misfit companions to find their leader.

* * *

"Elissa...Elissa...Elissa? There you are!"

Alistair stumbled over fallen trees by the lakeside where the other surviving Fereldan Grey Warden sat. She turned to look at him and giggled when he almost fell face first into the mud before catching himself. "Hello, Alistair," Elissa spoke softly. Her voice sounded slightly more happy than her appearance, but only slightly.

Alistair walked closer to her and sat on the log beside her. "What are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked. He didn't want to overwhelm her with the big question that was on everyone's mind - What's wrong?

Elissa fiddled with her fingers in her gauntlets and looked out at the lake before her. It was close to sundown and the lake shone hues of orange and pink from the reflection of the sky. The Blight had seemed to reached this area of the forest as most of the trees were bare, dead, or disconnected with the earth. Still, Elissa found herself staring at it in awe. This place must have been beautiful years or maybe even months ago.

"I just wanted to be myself to think for a while," she answered after what felt like an eternity to both Wardens.

"What were you thinking about?" Alistair continued his line of questioning.

"Just...how this all began; how fast everything has happened. I mean, one moment, Howe is massacring my family, and the next, Duncan whisks me away to Ostagar...and you know the story after that..." Elissa's words became more quiet towards the end of her remark. She knew how gentle a topic Duncan was to Alistair. No matter how many things he gets off his chest about how he wishes he would have been in Duncan's place, she knew he would never truly get over it and she didn't want to keep putting salt in that wound.

"It's been quite some time since you last mentioned your family," Alistair pointed out.

Elissa glanced over at Alistair before averting her sad gaze back to the lake. "Yes, it has."

"This has to do with what we saw in the Temple, right?"

Elissa took a deep breath before nodding. "When I saw my father, I didn't even know what to say. I mean, I knew it wasn't real. I knew that. But, seeing him again was too...too much. I wanted to get over the feeling of mourning once I became a Warden since this was his dying wish for me, but after that, everything I've been holding back has resurfaced."

Alistair took in everything she was saying and rested an armored hand on her shoulder. "I know how hard this is for you. Losing your family is...well, I've never met mine, so I wouldn't exactly know, but, it's hard. Duncan was the only person who I could see as a real family and he's gone now. When you lose someone, you don't have to suppress all of your feelings. It's okay to let them out when you need to. It shows your humanity and that you're a walking husk of a Darkspawn murderer." Elissa chuckled at that last comment which made Alistair smile. "I know I've droned on and on about Duncan, but-" He took one of her hands in his and looked into her ocean blue eyes "-If you ever need someone to lend you and ear, I've got two perfectly good ones right here." He pointed to his ears with his other hand.

Elissa smiled back at him and intertwined their fingers. "Thank you, Alistair."

Alistair leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "We should head back to the camp. Everyone's waiting for us."

* * *

"'I've got two perfectly good ones right here'? Why in the name of the Maker did you think that was a good choice of words?"

After Elissa had returned to camp, she retired to her tent for the night, leaving Alistair with the rest of their companions. He told them what was making Elissa on edge so that they could offer their support and help her through her time of need. She has single-handedly helped each and every one of her companions and helping to stop the Blight wouldn't be enough of a return to their leader.

"He was trying to make her smile," Leliana chastised Morrigan.

"He might as well have told her a knock-knock joke. That was pathetic," she replied.

"At least he tried to do something. None of us had the initiative to make the first move," Wynne said. She didn't look up at the group and sat apart from them, too busy focusing on making health poultices for their travels.

"Our wise mage here has a point. When in battle, the one who makes the first strike is usually the victor," Zevran added.

"Or the one that beats the other to a pulp wins," Sten corrected pessimistically.

"Uh...quite right, friend."

"Anyway, back to the po-"

Maho rose from her resting position and growled towards Elissa's tent. The covers were shifting as if someone was moving it and soft whimpering was coming out of it. Maho began barking and rushed towards the tent. "I'll see how she is," Wynne said. She put her potions down where Morrigan began to carry on where she left off.

Wynne made her way to the tent and peered inside. "Is everything alright?"

Elissa was laying in her small clothes with sweat dripping down her face. Maho sat next to her and lapped the droplets with her large tongue. "Wynne. Yes, everything's alright, I mean, I'm alright."

"You look like you had a nightmare," Wynne said softly. Elissa sat up cross legged and Wynne entered the tent. With grace achieved by years of mannerism, Wynne sat on her knees with perfect posture in front of her.

"It was. It seemed so real," Elissa muttered. She used her forearm to wipe any remaining sweat and Mabari slobber from her forehead.

"Would you like to talk about it? Speaking of the demons in your mind helps to make them less terrorizing." Wynne offered a gentle smile.

Elissa nodded softly and Wynne waited patiently before the Warden began to speak. "I had a dream that I was back in Highever; the castle. It was a normal day and my parents, my brother and his family, and I were taking a walk into the city like we used to to visit the villagers. Suddenly, everything is set ablaze and my family is missing. I ran through the city and one by one, I found their corpses with Howe standing over them. I tried to chase him, but...he got away."

Wynne held both of Elissa's hands. "Howe will not get away. The Maker sees everything and punishes people when they deserve it. Surely the Maker has seen what barbaric actions he has taken against your family and the rest of Ferelden and he will act accordingly." Elissa looked away from Wynne as if she didn't believe what she said. Wynne tucked a piece of her brown hair behind her ear and said, "Everything happens for a reason, my dear girl. You will see that Howe will pay for what he has down. You cannot allow revenge to cloud your mind. There are too many people who depend on you and you cannot give up now."

"I know, Wynne. I won't let this affect my duties as a Grey Warden," Elissa said with what confidence she could muster.

"I know you won't. None of us would let you go that far off the rail." Wynne smiled once more and left to let Elissa catch up on her sleep.

* * *

"You know, I've never been that far up north before," Leliana broke the silence.

It was the next morning and Elissa was leading the group back to Redcliffe to deliver Andraste's ashes to Arl Eamon in hopes to revive him. The sun shone brightly through the thick forest trees they maneuvered past.

"Really?" Elissa asked.

"Yes. I practically went south to Lothering after I escaped Orlais. I've always wondered what the north would be like."

"It's not much different from anywhere else."

"I'd like to see Highever if I could."

This made Elissa stop in her tracks and stare at the bard.

Leliana looked back at her and put a hand over her lips. "Should I not have said that?" she asked.

One side of Elissa's lips quirked up in a half smile. "It's alright, Leliana. I just wasn't expecting you to say that. What made you so interested in Highever all of a sudden?"

"I just wanted to see where you came from. You're a noblewoman and yet you're an excellent fighter. Of course, there are many female warriors in Orlais, but people treat their royal blood like it's pure gold and don't risk having any of it split in battle, unless it's for higher power in the Game, that is," she explained.

"I come from a family of warriors. My mother was a great fighter once as well. Not as acclaimed as my father, but she used to boast about how she put him in line all the time." Elissa smiled at the fond memories of her parents' sarcastic behaviors behind the eyes of the public.

"Well, 'tis the women's place to put men where they belong. Overly confident men are more of a danger to the world than the Blight," Morrigan jumped in.

Leliana looked at the mage and giggled. "Perhaps you are right." Morrigan looked at Leliana with an indifferent expression, but the laughter of her polar opposite did catch her off guard. Elissa also noticed the lower level of tension around them and smiled to herself.

"Your upbringing did you surprisingly well. Living in a comfortable environment must have made training much more easier," Morrigan said.

"I suppose it did. I did have many people willing to train me from my father, the knights, and visitors of the castle."

"Flemeth would usually summon demons and shades for me to battle and have me fend off the templars that came for us," the mage muttered.

"I should be grateful I didn't travel south enough to meet her," Leliana said.

"Everyone who hasn't already met her is," Morrigan said.

* * *

"Ah, it is a lovely afternoon, wouldn't you say?" Zevran asked.

The group decided to stop for a bit to rest their feet and catch tonight's dinner. While Sten and Alistair went to hunt any wild animals and the women stayed behind to do some preparation on what food they had already, Elissa went to the lake to find fish and relax a bit. Zevran followed behind her and while Alistair was wary of this action due to the fact the only reason why they met Zevran was for him to kill her, Elissa was very comfortable around him. Ever since his assassination attempt, he has made no moves to strike against them and has proven himself to be a powerful ally.

"It's definitely a lot brighter here than it was at Haven," Elissa said. She stripped herself of her lower body armor and walked into the bank. Zevran moved her armor closer together and sat down next to it, supposedly keeping watch on it and her.

"Perhaps that is because you're beautiful reflection lights up this Blighted, dark world," he smirked.

Elissa shook her head at his flattery and smiled. They both knew that something between them wasn't possibly as she was in love with Alistair, but that didn't make his passes unwelcomed. It was a cause for conversation and friendly, sarcastic banter between the two rogues which added to the close feeling she had to him.

Elissa extended her arm with the speed of a drawn arrow and caught a large fish. "Zev, catch!"

Elissa threw the fish behind her without looking and smiled at the sound of armor clinking rapidly with his footsteps. "Oh, you love to test me, don't you?" he asked. The Warden turned back to see the fish flopping in his surprisingly small arms. He set it down next to her armor and began to gut it with a small dagger from his pocket.

"Here's another one!"

Another fish was thrown and Zevran caught it with one hand. "You're quite the thrower, Elissa. I knew you had high athleticism, but I didn't know you could throw so far," he complimented.

"I learned it from my brother. He used to throw me around all the time into stacks of hay at barns and into lakes and rivers. I practiced it everyday until I could finally catch him off guard and return the favor."

"Ha ha! I would pay good coin to see a little you throw a boy twice your size into a river!" Zevran laughed.

"I could throw you in the river if you like," Elissa offered as she caught another fish.

"No, thank you. I don't want to return to my friends wet."

"That's the first time I've heard you say that."

"Did you also practice that mouth of yours because of your brother?"

* * *

"The stars look so pretty tonight," Elissa sighed to herself.

"The stars look the same every night," Sten said.

"Must you be so straightforward?"

"How else should I be?" he asked.

"Good point," Elissa said.

Elissa returned her gaze to the sky and smiled to herself. She felt the Qunari staring holes into her head, but he was always curious of her, so she didn't mind. "Do the stars look like they do at your homeland?" he asked.

"Ferelden is my homeland, but you must mean Highever. The area of Highever is pretty hilly, so it feels closer to the stars than here on the forest floor, but it's pretty nonetheless."

"Qunari don't have a concept of beauty. We simply are and so is the world around us. Warriors especially don't fancy things like you do," Sten said.

"If Leliana heard you say that, she would have a heart attack and go on about her shoe collection back in Orlais," Elissa chuckled.

"The bard is a strange one."

"She's eccentric."

"So you say. The Qun also doesn't have a concept of family like you seem to have. We're taken care of by the Tamassarans until we are of age to take on the assignments the Qun gives us."

"I can't imagine what it was like. That must have been lonely," Elissa said.

"Not at all. We Qunari learn to treat others like a... 'family', so to say. Everyone is expected to treat each other with respect and everyone's roles in the Qun helps one another out whether it is direct or not," Sten explained.

"So you're friends are your family?" Elissa asked.

"In a matter of speaking, yes," Sten answered.

Elissa looked over to the tent where her companions slept through this fine night. She smiled gently and looked back at the stars. "Actually, I can understand that."

Sten looked back at the Warden. "No matter how long I travel with you Fereldans, I still can't completely understand you, kadan."

"What's with all this sentimental crap over here?"

"I'm surprised you didn't pass out yet, Oghren," Elissa said.

The red haired dwarf stumbled over with two cups full of whatever ale he consumed day after day. "Oh, there's still some drink left in me," he said. He took a seat next to Elissa and handed her one of the cups.

"Clearly, since it's no where else," Sten said.

"He he he, and that's where I like it!" Oghren downed a huge gulp of ale and Elissa took a small sip of hers. "Don't be a lightweight, Ellie! I know you can drink more than that!" he shouted.

"I don't want to get a hangover when we get to Redcliffe tomorrow," Elissa said.

"Then pray to the stone that you won't get one. Come on, drink up! I know you've been down lately and this will help you forget about your troubles," he said before taking another swig of ale.

"Well, you're half right - I have been down lately, but drinking isn't going to help."

"You know I'm messing with ya."

"I know, Oghren, I know," Elissa sighed.

"When you got shit bothering you, you just gotta look it in the eye, give it the ol' finger, and say 'sod off'!" Oghren began laughing again and Elissa couldn't tell if he thought that was funny or he was drunk again (Again is used lightly since that would imply Oghren was sober at some point in their travels or his life in general).

"I don't think that will work in this situation, but I appreciate the thought," Elissa said.

Oghren finished his cup and let out a relieved sigh. "Hey, Ellie, if you ever want to share you tragic backstory over a pint, I've got enough liquor to last all of us through this dammned Blight and two perfectly good ears to listen with."

"Wait, that's what Alis-"

"Yeah, pretty boy thought he was smooth when he told us that. Maybe I should teach him how you really get the ladies."

"Please, Oghren, don't."

* * *

 **Author's Note  
**

 **It's been forever since I last wrote for Dragon Age, but I just love it too much. I miss the companions in Origins and hopefully I got their characters right. As a side note, I didn't know what to name the dog, so I called her Maho as short for Mabari Hound...lame, I know... I wanted to go more in depth about how the characters get concerned about us because besides taking on the Blight with us and maybe one or two "I'm sorry for your losses" here and there, we're mostly catering to them and I know it's a game that's supposed to be like that, but having the companions be concerned for the leader isn't too wild of an idea. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this insight to the companions and the Warden.**

 **Until next time, sayonara~!**


End file.
